Week 1 Matchups, In-or-Out, Upset of the Week

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary Episode: Week 1 Matchups, In-or-Out, Upset of the Week
Release Date: September 7, 2018
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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1. Introduction and Week 1 Recap

Jason Moore kicks off the episode with enthusiasm, welcoming listeners from Draft.com Studios alongside Andy Holloway and Mike Wright. They quickly dive into the aftermath of Week 1's sole NFL game:

• Mike Wright [01:14]: "What a game it was."
• Jason Moore [01:16]: "What a garbage dumpster pile of trash. That game."

Despite initial frustrations with the game's quality, the hosts acknowledge its significance as the season opener:

• Andy Holloway [01:37]: "Look, it definitely played the part of first game of the season."

They also highlight the fantasy points scored by their team members, setting the stage for a detailed fantasy forecast.

2. Highlighting the Debut and Player Reactions

The trio discusses notable moments, including Nick Foles's visible displeasure during the game:

• Mike Wright [01:46]: "Nick Foles... looked sweaty, upset, a little bit scared..."

They delve into social media reactions, particularly focusing on Jay Ajayi's performance:

• Andy Holloway [02:36]: "You jump to conclusions."
• Jason Moore [03:09]: "There was far more Jay rooting going on in this room than I had realized."

The hosts express frustration over inconsistent performances from players like Corey Clement and Mike Wallace, considering their starting status for Week 1.

3. In-or-Out Player Decisions

A significant segment of the episode revolves around deciding whether to keep or drop certain players based on their Week 1 performances and upcoming matchups.

• Jason Moore on Jay Ajayi [07:38]: "If I had Jay, I would try to sell high."

  Discussing Jay's fluctuation in performance:

  • Jason Moore [08:33]: "There's not going to be a one back system in place here... it's going to be a frustrating time."

• Andy Holloway on Corey Clement and Mike Wallace [09:34]: "I would trash Corey Clement and I would trash Mike Wallace for right now."

• Jason Moore [10:42]: "Sure, sure. I'm starting my Tyrod..."

The hosts balance their decisions by analyzing player usage, team strategies, and potential for future matchups.

4. Matt Ryan’s Debut and Julio Jones' Performance

The discussion shifts to Matt Ryan's debut as the Falcons' quarterback and Julio Jones' phenomenal week:

• Andy Holloway [11:16]: "Matt Ryan has arguably the best wide receiver in football on his roster. Julio Jones last night was unbelievable."

Critiques of Matt Ryan's debut include:

• Jason Moore [12:26]: "He looks as bad as any quarterback in the league. Had nothing to do with the great defense."

They balance this by emphasizing Julio Jones' continued fantasy value:

• Andy Holloway [14:07]: "Julio had a monster week. He's going to continue to. It's just a matter of can he score."

5. Injury News and Implications

Injury updates play a crucial role in fantasy decisions:

• Sonny Michel (Patriots RB): Likely out for Week 1.

• Marshawn Lynch (RB): Groin injury, expected to be out.

• Will Fuller (WR): Hamstring issue, advised not to start.

• Vance McDonald (LB, Chargers): Limited to reps, not advisable to play.

  • Jason Moore [09:47]: "Vance will play. I think this is them limiting his reps. But I would not play Vance McDonald Week 1, right?"

6. Matchup Analysis and Fantasy Forecast

The hosts provide in-depth analysis of several Week 1 matchups, offering strategic advice for fantasy managers.

Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

• Andy Holloway [20:55]: Bet on Le'Veon Bell not playing, start James Conner.

• Jason Moore [21:32]: "I moved him [Le'Veon Bell] down to 8 expecting several games missed."

• Emphasis on James Conner's potential:

  • Jason Moore [25:15]: "I would take James Conner..."

New York Giants vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

• Andy Holloway [26:08]: Take the under on the 42.5 point over/under.

• Mike Wright [26:45]: Start Leonard Fournette and Keelan Cole for Jacksonville.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers

• Jason Moore [30:02]: Advises against playing Patrick Mahomes early in his new system.

• Focus on Tyreek Hill's high potential:

  • Andy Holloway [30:16]: "I'm starting him up."

Washington Redskins vs. Arizona Cardinals

• Mike Wright [34:19]: Reliably start David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald.

• Highlighting Sam Bradford as a potential play:

  • Mike Wright [34:19]: "Sam Bradford is a pretty decent play this week."

Carolina Panthers vs. Dallas Cowboys

• Jason Moore [38:05]: Recommends starting Keenan Allen over uncertain Cowboys receivers.

• Andy Holloway [40:04]: Suggests caution with Dak Prescott, favoring other quarterbacks like Sam Bradford or Dalton Schultz.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos

• Andy Holloway [40:53]: Advises taking the under on the 42.5 point over/under.

• Mike Wright [41:03]: Recommends starting Sam Bradford and Amari Cooper.

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers

• Andy Holloway [44:07]: Suggests 'pumping the brakes' on Jordan Howard.

• Discussion on Allen Robinson's ambiguous role:

  • Mike Wright [45:36]: "Allen Robinson, keep your head."

Los Angeles Rams vs. Oakland Raiders

• Andy Holloway [53:29]: Predicts an under on the 42.5 point over/under.

• Jason Moore [54:40]: "If Amari Cooper has a bad week, I will be trading for Cooper."

7. Playoff Outlook and Player Strategies

The hosts discuss long-term strategies based on Week 1 performances, emphasizing flexibility and the importance of not overreacting to single-game outcomes. They encourage listeners to monitor player performances closely and make informed decisions moving forward.

8. Daily Dose and Community Engagement

In the "Daily Dose" segment, Mike Wright shares insights and engages with the community, emphasizing the importance of staying updated through their platforms:

• Mike Wright [56:30]: "We jump in a triangle match of death where we are going head to head using the Draft app..."

They also announce giveaway winners, fostering a sense of community and rewarding listener engagement.

9. Conclusion and Upcoming Content

The episode wraps up with reminders about upcoming live streams and encouraging listeners to join their community:

• Andy Holloway [61:32]: "Tune in on Sunday morning to the live stream... Have an absolutely wonderful weekend."

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Notable Quotes

• Jason Moore [07:38]: "If I had Jay, I would try to sell high."

• Andy Holloway [11:16]: "Matt Ryan has arguably the best wide receiver in football on his roster."

• Jason Moore [10:42]: "I would trash Corey Clement and I would trash Mike Wallace for right now."

• Mike Wright [34:19]: "Sam Bradford is a pretty decent play this week against Washington at home."

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Key Takeaways

• Flexibility is Key: Week 1 performances can be deceptive; avoid making rash decisions based solely on one game.

• Watch for Injuries: Stay updated with injury reports as they significantly impact player values and weekly starts.

• Strategic Start/Sit Decisions: Prioritize players with consistent usage and favorable matchups over those with volatile performances.

• Community Engagement: Leveraging community insights and remaining connected through their platforms can enhance your fantasy strategy.

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This comprehensive review of the Fantasy Footballers' Week 1 episode provides valuable insights and strategic advice for fantasy managers navigating the start of the NFL season. By analyzing player performances, matchups, and injury news, the hosts equip listeners with the knowledge to make informed decisions for their fantasy teams.

Transcript

[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Coming to you from Draft.com Studios with your hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, we're back.

[Jason Moore]

Hey.

[Mike Wright]

Fired up man.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome in Friday, September 7, the fantasy footballers Podcast. We're here. We've got one game in the books.

[Mike Wright]

What a game it was.

[Jason Moore]

What a. What a garbage dumpster pile of trash. That game. That game.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, it was bad.

[Jason Moore]

Terrible.

[Mike Wright]

That game was bad.

[Andy Holloway]

No, it had a great ending you.

[Jason Moore]

Had and I, and I mean this. You had a solid 30 seconds of game time. That was awesome.

[Andy Holloway]

The 45 seconds. 50, 50.

[Jason Moore]

I'll give you 2 minutes and 16 seconds from when they got.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, it definitely played the part of first game of the season. No doubt about it. In terms of rust and issues. And 6 and 1.

[Mike Wright]

Nick Foles, the camera panning up to Roger Goodell. I don't know if you caught this.

[Andy Holloway]

I've seen the gif.

[Mike Wright]

But the man was, he looked sweaty, he looked upset, he looked a little bit scared as he was watching down on his product launching with an absolute stinker of a first game. But it doesn't matter because we scored fantasy points last night.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right. We're going to talk about that on the show today. We'll get into the rest of the fantasy forecast. We'll catch you up on injury news. We've got the Daily Dose. It is jam packed on the show today. We'll have you ready for week one. There are so many questions because as fantasy football players and living in a world of Twitter, we love conclusions. What was that old office space, the Jump to conclusions, Matt.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Remember that because you jump to conclusions. Yeah, yeah. And that was what Twitter was. I saw Jay Ajayi victory laps in the first quarter from the analysts that hated him. Now, we didn't take a. I don't think we took a really strong opinion on JI either direction, but you got both sides of that. Oh, my pendulum swung both directions last night.

[Jason Moore]

JI owners, the first half we're going. What is happening? Corey Clement, Darren Sprouls windows. The freaking Smallwood was out there ahead of Jai.

[Mike Wright]

And then the Darren Sprolls tilt was extremely strong. We all watched the game here at the footballers headquarters as we do with the first game of the season. And there was far more Jaggi rooting going on in this room than I had realized. I have him in the listener league. Brooks has him in a league or two. Brooks girlfriend has J Ajayi. So all of us were freaking out.

[Andy Holloway]

It's very entertaining to watch people who own a player like that when the season starts because the expressions that Brooks would let out, they made no sense in the framework of the regular game. It was just like if anything happened, Jai could have done it better in that situation.

[Mike Wright]

Like the best line.

[Andy Holloway]

JJ could have thrown that ball to Nelson Aguilar better.

[Mike Wright]

The best line for. Well, he probably could have. That's. That's a fair point. But the best line from Brooks last night was the Eagles running a two minute drill before the half. And it was like second and three or something. And Brooks is getting mad that JJ did run the ball. It's like Brooks. That doesn't even make sense.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I knew you were going to bring that one up. All right, we'll get into the full Thursday night recap momentarily. It is Friday, which means.

[Jason Moore]

Foot Clan Friday.

[Andy Holloway]

Every Friday, we like to take a moment to reward somebody from our membership community, the Foot Clan. Yeah, you can find about 6,000 of you [e-mail] our listener community. You get an extra episode every week. You get access to the community forums. It's a great place to hang out with good people. And today's winner is. Fabian Martin.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, what? What's Fabian Martin gonna take home today?

[Andy Holloway]

Last year we were just. If you won Foot Clan Friday, you got a $40 gift card to.

[Jason Moore]

That's really nice.

[Andy Holloway]

Shotballers.com it's not $40 anymore.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, no. That's not nice.

[Mike Wright]

Is it $50?

[Andy Holloway]

No, it's not $50.

[Jason Moore]

Wait a minute.

[Andy Holloway]

$55.

[Jason Moore]

That's real, real nice.

[Andy Holloway]

The Fabian Martin. We give away a gift card each and every Friday, so congratulations. Appreciate your support. Follow us on twitter @the ffballers. If you want to witness various tilting through the year, you can follow Mike at FF Hitman. Oh, follow Jason at Jason ffl. He did a little Devonta Freeman tilting last night. And then I'm at Andy Holloway and yeah, I'll tilt as well. We will all share our emotions in a very impulsive way on, you know, it's.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just Drawing the conclusion now, I'm not sure how.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you jumping to it?

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

This was. This is not a jump, but this is exactly what happened with Mike Gillisle.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Mike Wright]

To start the season last year, the Thursday night game, Patriots, Chiefs, it was. It was Gilly. We were all in. I want Gilly. He's going to succeed. He's going to be the guy. Snap one for the Patriots. Rex Burkhead comes out, and then by the end of the game, lo and behold, who's got two rushing touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

Three.

[Mike Wright]

Was it three?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Gill had the triple in week one. Last.

[Andy Holloway]

However, if that template plays out, it's going to be a tough season for.

[Mike Wright]

JI which is the big question, people.

[Andy Holloway]

So let's start there with Jai. He played just 28 of the 71 offensive snaps last night sent a chill through the souls of fantasy owners. From what I can see and what Doug Peterson wants to do, you're playing a little bit of running back roulette with this roster. That being said, he still dominated the total carries.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

15 carries, 62 yards, 4.1 a carry, two touchdowns, got in the end zone, did what they needed him to do. Darren Sprouls had five carries. Corey Clement had five carries. By the way, Corey Clement, at times, I feel like he was. There was like a hologram of some other defender out there. It was just. He had to move his legs like a thousand times a minute or else.

[Jason Moore]

He would juking no.

[Andy Holloway]

1. It was like a Keanu Reeves speed situation. You have to keep the legs moving above 70 miles an hour or you're going to explode. Don't know what that was about. Yeah, I have questions about him, too. But let's start with JJ because the question the fantasy owners have had thus far is, do you sell high?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you sell. Last year, if you sold high on Gillislee, it was the best decision you could have made. It's Thursday night. Everybody's eyes are on the game. Jason, Mike, I need to know, do you have an answer to that question? Because we don't want to overreact.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

But you got to take a side.

[Jason Moore]

No, Absolutely. And if I had Jiji, I would try to sell high. But the key word there is high. If you can take what he did with everyone's eyeballs on him and translate that to an absolute RB1 value.

[Andy Holloway]

Marshawn Lynch. Would you trade him for Marshawn Lynch?

[Jason Moore]

No. Okay. No way. I would rather have Jay Ajayi than Marshawn Lynch. But if you could trade him for an RB1 type of value, then I would capitalize on it because while you saw. Well, I would say that's about the.

[Mike Wright]

Same tier and you can't even do that right now because J.J. is locked.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, sure, sure. I'm just giving. I'm trying to figure out what tier you're talking about.

[Jason Moore]

I'm talking about, you know, you take jj, you package him with some other player and you upgrade to Kareem Heinz or something like that where you, you can, you can really truly upgrade for sure. The good and the bad with the Jay is going to continue all year.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

We saw this with Doug Peterson last year. There's not gonna be a one back system in place here or even a two back. There's going to be a four running back system for Peterson every game. It's going to change from game to game. It's going to be frustrating. But the, but the good news is, is that it does appear that JJ is the goal line back for a very good offense once Wentz gets back and a very good offensive line right now. So there is certainly value to be had. But I. It's going to be a frustrating time, I think.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I completely agree with that. You don't have to sell a Jay, but he's going to be the perfect player come the end of week one. One of the. One of the studs is going to underwhelm and people will freak out after week one. So you might be able to flip a Jay for that player.

[Andy Holloway]

Stash or trash Question with two players, Corey Clement and Mike Wallace. Mike Wallace was completely shut out last night.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Despite Nelson Aguilar eight receptions for 33 yards.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I would say Mike Wallace was shut out by Nick Foles. Right. There was a play where.

[Andy Holloway]

But that could be the case for three weeks. Are you going to really hold on to Mike Wallace for three weeks or you're going to trade him in?

[Mike Wright]

That's the news for a new model. The news that came out yesterday on Carson Wentz was the team is expected and preparing for him to miss multiple weeks.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Him and Alshon now. So, so be aware the Eagles what you saw last night is going to be more of the same of what you're seeing. Their schedule opens up. It's much easier the next few weeks than against the Falcons. But the same roster without Alshon, without Wentz for the next several weeks. I would trash Corey Clement and I would trash Mike Wallace for right now. And then I would be willing to pick up Mike Wallace when Carson Wentz comes back and Darren Sprouls, Sprols, his.

[Andy Holloway]

Fantasy numbers weren't there. I mean, he was 5 for 10 on the ground. He was 4 for 232 through the air. You don't get points per snap. It was exciting to see him out there. What do you do with. Would you rather have Sproules as a stash than Clement?

[Jason Moore]

100%, yes. If I'm in any kind of PPR league, he's going to have a. Clement did flat.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, Clement didn't get any pass catching, but he did flash a big 21 yard run.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's really all he did. Clements a It looks like he's just going to be the handcuff all offseason. You know, it was. Will Clement retain the red zone role that he was establishing last year? So far through one week, it does not look like that. So he is just a handcuff and Sprouls is just an eater of value for the other running backs.

[Andy Holloway]

I want to flip to the other side of the ball.

[Jason Moore]

You were asking Stash or what was that? Matt Ryan. Stash or Matt Ryan? Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I don't agree. I don't agree with that assessment. Believe it or not.

[Jason Moore]

I don't believe it.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, okay.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, I do believe it because you just said it, but I don't agree.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I want to pull back a little bit because here's what we know. Matt Ryan has arguably the best wide receiver in football on his roster. Julio Jones last night was unbelievable. 10 for 169. Matt Ryan played against on the road. He went and played against a. Maybe a top three defense in the NFL. Yeah, right. And yes, it wasn't the best night. 21 for 43, 251. Did not throw a touchdown. Red zone struggles continue. We could talk at length about that. I just think it's a bad call to overreact to Matt Ryan's debut last night because he has one of the best receivers in the game and he played against the best defense on the road. If we. If he was going into Denver, you know, Russell Wilson's my struggle this week.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you going to put. Are you going to ruin him?

[Mike Wright]

There's a variable.

[Jason Moore]

It depends on how it comes because my issue with Matt Ryan, I tweeted this out in the. I think it was the beginning of the second quarter where I said he looks like as bad as any quarterback in the league. Had nothing to do with the great defense. He was missing every throw. He didn't place anything where it should be. When he hit a guy had no velocity. No velocity. Everything was this.

[Andy Holloway]

I did see. Someone said he was throwing toilet paper rolls.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

On Twitter.

[Mike Wright]

That's the problem is he looked like something was wrong.

[Jason Moore]

Ex wanted after the game, something to come out and say my shoulder or my. Something was hurting. Nothing after the game spoke of why all of his passes had no heat on it.

[Andy Holloway]

19 targets for Julio.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. One away from the NFL record, I believe.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, Mike, you. You struggle with Steve Sarkeesian in the red zone office.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, my goodness.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's talk about that briefly because I don't know what you're supposed to do because what happens is Julio Jones, he has his breakfast, lunch and dinner between the twenties. I mean he threatens with the deep speed. He's a. The crossing routes in the middle of the field and he's just always open there and he just gobbles up yardage. But when you get into that pinched 10 zone range, they double in triple team. Julio Jones.

[Mike Wright]

Well then.

[Andy Holloway]

And look in the playoff game last year, forcing it to him didn't make a difference and didn't work. Forcing it to him last night didn't work. So what do you do? Is it about inventive play calling for him?

[Mike Wright]

It starts with that. But first of all, Julio was off the field for a ton of those plays. He was there at the end and they were. And they just got where they went overboard with forcing it to him because Tevin Coleman, I think it was running a slant on that final plane was. Was wide open. So they got out of control of trying to get to the star player on the final play. But Julio being off the field running the exact same jumbo package where you have. The Eagles know exactly what you're going to do. And that's the problem. My problem with that is that is old school football. We've seen the good offensives, they've moved on, they've moved past that where you just say, yep, we're going to run. Try and stop us.

[Andy Holloway]

When you see the Eagles do that. The Eagles have got motion all the time. They're doing a lot of different things.

[Mike Wright]

You spread it out. I mean the play where they had, they went jumbo and then they went two tight ends wide. I mean, what are you doing?

[Jason Moore]

Granted, that should have been.

[Mike Wright]

It should have been a touchdown to Freeman.

[Jason Moore]

Freeman. But Matt Ryan just missed it.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. We have so much to get to. We can't stay on that game all night. Obviously, Matt Ryan struggles. Whether you buy them as a major problem or not did not affect Julio Jones. That's the Headline there for fantasy owners. Julio had a monster week. He's going to continue to. It's just a matter of can he score. He almost broke one of those long that. That one across the middle.

[Jason Moore]

The concerns on the Freeman Coleman split. Turns out that Freeman hurt his knee through the game. It does not appear to be serious. We'll update you earlier next week. But that was the cause for why Freeman was off the field so much.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. Let's get rest of the injury news.

[Jason Moore]

What's it gonna be, McFly? Are you in or out?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, we're back. In or out. Sonny Michelle, Patriots running back. I think he's got a knee injury. Do you think he's gonna be in or out?

[Mike Wright]

I think he'll be out week one.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Regardless.

[Jason Moore]

Regardless. You're not playing out of your lineup yet.

[Andy Holloway]

Marshawn lynch, groin injury.

[Mike Wright]

McGrawin in.

[Andy Holloway]

Marlon Mack.

[Jason Moore]

I'm gonna say out.

[Andy Holloway]

I think out.

[Jason Moore]

He got back to practice on Thursday, but I lean out.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, wide receivers. Will Fuller with the hamstring.

[Mike Wright]

I think he will play, but this is trouble.

[Andy Holloway]

Don't start him.

[Mike Wright]

This is trouble. When a speedster has hurt his hamstring early on in the preseason, once he opens it up in game, what's going to happen?

[Andy Holloway]

What's going to happen to the Texans offense if no Will Fuller, you know who's the beneficiary outside of Hopkins is Bruce Ellington. That's it?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

That's all you got?

[Mike Wright]

Bruce Ellington's pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

Maybe Kiki Cootie maybe. But he might not play.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's probably not going to play. Josh Gordon in.

[Mike Wright]

Around in on a count and they're. Yeah, they're calling for a snap count for Josh Gordon. We'll see. We'll see if that actually happens.

[Andy Holloway]

Jermaine curse doesn't matter. Sorry, Jermaine. Vance McDonald and Austin Safari and Jenkins so advance McDonald.

[Mike Wright]

It's. I think he's going to be out.

[Jason Moore]

I think Vance will play. I think this is them limiting his reps. But I would not play Vance McDonald Week 1, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa could miss Week 1 against the Chiefs. This would be good news for Pat.

[Mike Wright]

Mahomes, certainly the whole Chiefs offense. This would be very good news.

[Andy Holloway]

Reminder on Sunday morning.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

You'll have game day alerts if you're a member of the foot clan over at jointhefoot.com as well as Mike's periscope/YouTube/facebook/ Twitch. This guy Mike will be live on Sunday morning. That's all you need to know Mike will be live and you got to follow us on one of those locations.

[Mike Wright]

So if you're on the social media.

[Andy Holloway]

You got to be alerted.

[Mike Wright]

You're gonna see this.

[Jason Moore]

Gotta be up to date, especially YouTube people.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

We are 97. Yes. Point something. Thousand subscribers.

[Mike Wright]

The march Foot clan. The march is on. The final countdown is on.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike has never apologized for enjoying awards. No, never, never apologize for when, you know, when we won the podcast awards and back to back years. Mike did a dance. He is a. He loves it. He's an award.

[Mike Wright]

It feels good, man. It feels good.

[Andy Holloway]

So what I'm saying is, is when you hit 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, they send you a silver play button plaque. It's just a physical award. It's really not that important and yet.

[Jason Moore]

Completely meaningless in real life. We'll lift our spirits high.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Morale boost. Just letting you know we're not above it. We're very content. We're happy. Mike is pointing at the camera. If you're watching on YouTube right now, you better subscribe. Get us there. All right, before we jump into the rest of the fantasy forecast, I'm so excited to talk about these matchups. But first, let's take a minute. Let's thank FanDuel for supporting the show. Look, the football season's underway. We know it. And depending on how each and every week goes, it's fun to have a week to week game. It's fun to take the edge off a bad week. It enhances the week when someone disappoints you. It enhances your week to week experience. And you spend, you know, all this time researching. Might as well put that research to a good effort. Play some on FanDuel. I'm excited to be playing there this year. It's a new season every single week. That's the gist, right? You get to start over every single week. You get to take the edge off a bad week regardless of the outcome. You get to research, build your team over and over again. It's fun to play against your friends on FanDuel. They're all about that. It's fun to take what you learned the week before and apply it. Try to find value on FanDuel. And look, we got the DFS show that gets you connected to what to do over there. And so right now, new users can get $20 as a bonus when they make the first deposit on FanDuel. Come play with [e-mail] fantasy footballers. That's FanDuel.com fantasy footballers and hey, make.

[Jason Moore]

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[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's start in Cleveland. The Steelers travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns. The Browns are four point dogs at home, 44 point over under. We know the storyline with La Veon Bell. He's not gonna be out there.

[Mike Wright]

Nope, not this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Start your James Conner.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

But will he like be near there?

[Andy Holloway]

One of the things that's interesting is his. You know, Jason, last year he finished third among fantasy experts in draft accuracy. We had to lock in our draft rankings yesterday afternoon. We're all sitting here with we have to make a bet on Lev Bell. So, hey, we might be wrong, but I want to tell you what our bet is. And my bet on Lev Bell is that he reports this week, does not play Sunday and is playing 15 games. That's my bet. That's what I did with him.

[Jason Moore]

Ranked 4. You had him ranked at 4. I moved him down to 8 expecting several games missed. I think that that's.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

You know, if you keep in mind that Ezekiel Elliott missed six games last year and he was the number nine running back. So even if he misses several, he's still going to be a great back to own.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So that, that's what we're doing. That's our bet on Le'Veon Bell. Situation. Here's the situation with the Browns. Their roster is turned over and guys, I'm doing it.

[Jason Moore]

Andy's almost upset of the week. I want to hate this so, so much because I think that the Browns are a facade, but I mean, there's a lot of things here. Love Bell not being there. Todd Haley as the offensive coordinator previously for the Steelers. Now for the Browns, the momentum is there.

[Andy Holloway]

I love the Browns in this game. It's the home opener. No Lev Bell, a lot of turnover, a stronger defense. Now, last year wasn't great. We know this. The Browns stunk. So projecting. This wasn't great. Yeah, sure. Last year, Big Ben.

[Jason Moore]

That is not false.

[Andy Holloway]

Big Ben was ninth among quarterbacks, 17.2 fantasy points per game. They're facing a Browns defense that last year gave up 18.3 per game, which was third worst in the league. So that's a start. Your Big Ben now Big Ben's on the road.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Doesn't matter, right?

[Andy Holloway]

I know. And I have him and Tyrod back to back in my rankings. I am starting Tyrod Taylor.

[Jason Moore]

Is that official? Because I know you've been telling me you've been going back and forth.

[Andy Holloway]

I have been going back and forth because I think they're both going to have good weeks. I think that the floor, the rushing floor with Tyrod, the weapons that he has new weapons. Right. I mean, you get Jarvis Landry involved now Antonio Calloway is a big play guy. You get him, you know, a swing pass, he can take it to the house. There are opportunities here and I've heard the feedback. Guys. I'm listening. Foot clan, you think I'm too in on the Browns, but if I'm in on them at all, this is the time to be in on them. Now's the time. You make your decisions. I'm putting my money where my mouth is. I'm going in on the Browns in week one. I know the matchup doesn't look great, but things change year to year and I like it. So I'm starting my tie rod. I'm starting my Carlos Hyde. I'm starting my Jarvis Landry.

[Mike Wright]

Carlos Hyde is the question I wanted to bring up. Sure. Because the Steelers, when they lost Ryan Shazier last year, that defense, it took a turn. It really took a turn for the worst. And I don't think they've been able to really replace Shay's years position.

[Andy Holloway]

They gave up 104.2 yards per game last year, 20th in the league.

[Mike Wright]

And now you have Carlos Hyde, who had a very strong preseason, has the mobile quarterback which always provides a bump for running backs. You're. So you're calling a start of Carlos Hyde.

[Andy Holloway]

What's your I do.

[Mike Wright]

What's your range of outcomes? High level running back. Two.

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

He could be a one this week.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

So he could end up over 10 to 12 range and yeah, I like look, there are certain teams, New England, Pittsburgh, Baltimore specifically on defense that even if they have turnover, they kind of get it together but it takes them a few weeks to figure it out. They got a young secondary in Pittsburgh. They're figuring it out. I don't think going on the road against that front. Look, we were talking so much about the offensive line for Cleveland last year. You got a different runner back there. You've got the Tyrod Taylor factor. Look, I don't want to keep talking about it, but that's where I'm at. James Conner, range of outcomes for him. If you had to face if it's James Conner or Carlos Hyde, who are you taking?

[Jason Moore]

I would take James Conner in that but that is not an anti Hyde take. It's a pro James Conner. They are going to try to prove, I mean the team is here. I mean the offensive line, the quotes have talked about how Leve Bell, you can miss the year. We've got James Conner. He would have been a first round pick if he didn't get cancer. He's amazing. That offensive line is going to make sure to prove a point that James Conner can get it done. I think Connor is, you know, I've got him at 15 or 16 right now. I've got him pretty high.

[Andy Holloway]

Any other thoughts in this game? You're starting your Antonio Brown, you're starting your juju Smith Schuster.

[Jason Moore]

Juju is a. I think juju is a very good start. James Washington has been a little bit banged up and the matchup is very.

[Mike Wright]

Good for juju this week and for Cleveland. We already kind of talked about Josh Gordon. What's your confidence level to play him as a wide receiver too?

[Jason Moore]

Not high for me. Flex.

[Mike Wright]

Flex. Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it's okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, if you're one of those two flex leagues, I feel a little bit better about sure. All right, let's move on. Let's talk about another fun match of this week. Jacksonville travels to New York to take on the giants. Giants are three point underdogs at home, 42 and a half point over under. I'd personally take the under in this game.

[Jason Moore]

I did as well.

[Andy Holloway]

Jacksonville coming off the playoff season. Blake Bortles & Co. Lennon Fernet. We've talked a lot about the wide receivers this week. We get to see them. Are you starting up Keelan Cole and Dante Moncrief? Mike, what decisions are you making on the offensive side of the ball For Jacksonville?

[Mike Wright]

So for Jacksonville, Fournette easy start. And Keelan Cole, I will play him. I think he has a chance to emerge. We've talked about the range of outcomes for Keelan Cole and when he was given his opportunity, I mean, he opened the gates and sees the date.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

If you catch my drift.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, man. The news was breaking.

[Mike Wright]

So I'm interested with Keelan Cole. Moncrief, I would give him. I'd give him a week to percolate. Let him just sit on my bench and see what's happening with that passing attack.

[Andy Holloway]

Jacksonville was sixth in the league last year in points per game. They faced the Giants defense. That was real bad. So there's opportunity here, but it's in New York. I know. Jason, you've been more optimistic about the Giants this season, obviously, compared to last year.

[Jason Moore]

I think.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you say they're your Browns?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think that's fair.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, they were 3 and 13 last year. They were almost in the Browns level.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean, they had a top pick in the NFL draft and I expect them to be competing for a playoff position. That being said, I think that I have the Jaguars getting to the Super Bowl. This is going to be a tough matchup for the Giants. That's why they're home underdogs. I'm not. You know, look, Saquon's going to be okay, but this isn't going to be a huge game for him. He's going to be involved enough in the passing to be fine. You know, you're always going to start Odell Beckham, but I've got him. People have been like, dude, you've got Odell Beckham outside of a top 12 wide receiver. And it's like, yeah, I mean, Jalen Ramsey has. Shut up guys down. I might move him up a little bit now that Ramsey's dealing with the ankle injury, but it's a tough, tough matchup.

[Andy Holloway]

Reports out of New York have Saquon getting a full allotment of snaps. Not going to be limited by any of the injury concerns that were there previously.

[Mike Wright]

And if you could beat Jacksonville anywhere last year, it was on the ground.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So it's. He's interesting.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. What were they last year?

[Mike Wright]

21St.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Okay, let's move on. Chiefs, Chargers. We talked about Joey Bosa could miss the game. For the Chargers defense, the Chargers are at home and are three and a half point favorites against Pat Mahomes. It's an interesting game. I've been rising progressively on Tyreek Hill. I think the outcomes for him on the course of the season have moved into that top eight, top six range because the rapport with Mahomes is legit. And Tyree Kill is a special player. That's what it comes down to, right? Talent and opportunity. Both of those exist for Tyree Kill. You start him up. You starting Kareem Hunt. You taking any chances with Patrick Mahomes this week, Mike? I mean, are you starting Tyrod Taylor over him?

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you starting Blake Bortles over Pat Mahomes?

[Jason Moore]

That's a good one.

[Mike Wright]

That is a great question. And oh, that it depends on what I feel like I need from my quarterback position because Mahomes could explode and yet he's going against the third best passing defense of from last year. And on top of that, they were near the bottom. I'm talking about the Chargers. So they were a great pass defense, but real bad on the ground. And Kareem Hunt, who rushed for 10 or more yards on nearly 13% of his carries. I mean, Kareem Hunt gouged.

[Andy Holloway]

They were a gougeable defense last year.

[Mike Wright]

So it.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't want to be gougable.

[Mike Wright]

No, no.

[Andy Holloway]

Nobody wants to be gougeable.

[Mike Wright]

Nope. It ran. This matchup is set up for Kareem Hunt. I would try not to play Patrick Mahomes this week.

[Jason Moore]

The one thing going in Patrick Mahomes favor is the Tyreek Hill.

[Mike Wright]

It's big plays.

[Jason Moore]

Tyreek Hill over the last two years, his home road splits is very interesting. We talk about Big Ben a lot, but Tyreek Hill has been consistently much, much, much better on the road. Surprisingly then at home he. He gets over double the touchdowns on the road. Far more targets.

[Mike Wright]

It was Alex Smith though.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, absolutely. You can throw weird.

[Mike Wright]

It was a weird year.

[Jason Moore]

You can throw that out the window from the standpoint of Alex Smith. But the play calling and the tendency to throw more than run could be an Andy Reid thing as well.

[Mike Wright]

Right?

[Andy Holloway]

Sammy Watkins or Dante Moncrief this week?

[Mike Wright]

Whoa, that's a very good question. And I will go.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to take Dante Moncrief because of the matchup. Because I'd rather go against. Rather a flyer. Not against the Chargers, but against the New York Giants.

[Andy Holloway]

Looking at the Charger side of the ball, we've talked at length about the Chiefs. Their defense does not look strong. It was. It's going to be a problem over under 10 receptions for Keenan Allen.

[Mike Wright]

Over.

[Andy Holloway]

Over.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, 10 is a really good line because I would say about 10. So I'll take the over. The combination though, of Tyrell Williams and Mike Williams, they are going to be fascinating to watch.

[Andy Holloway]

How that shakes out.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, how it shakes out through the season. In this particular game, I was incredibly close to calling a real deep shot for starts of the week because I love Rivers so much. Tyrell Williams, he was in consideration for me because this is the perfect matchup where Tyrell the Gazelle is going to hit a 50 yard touchdown strike.

[Andy Holloway]

I would stand to reason that Mike Williams or Tyrell Williams end up as some of the bigger ads in week two because one of these players is likely to have a big play against this chief secondary.

[Mike Wright]

I agree.

[Andy Holloway]

And end up on that list. So if you got room, you want to stash it beforehand. Maybe you take your shot, you go with Mike's guy Tyrell, or you take a shot on Mike Williams.

[Mike Wright]

Not a bad idea, are you?

[Andy Holloway]

You're a big fan of Philip Rivers, Mike, he's your start of the week. Melvin Gordon's a no question start, so we don't need to talk about him. Jason, do you have any thoughts on the tight end situation in Los Angeles?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, don't play him. I mean, no. Really, that's.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a strong opinion. I mean, I don't mind it.

[Jason Moore]

You don't play Antonio Gates, you don't play Virgil Green. They're not going. I mean, I think best case for Gates is two receptions for eight yards and a touchdown. And then you won't be upset, but he's going to be eased back in onto the field.

[Mike Wright]

You're going to get sweaty watching that game.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to share something. I know we got to get into the Redskins. Cardinals. I had a dream last night. I had a dream last night. No joke. Goal line carry, Baltimore Ravens. Okay, for Joe Flacco turns.

[Jason Moore]

Flacco hands the ball to Lamar.

[Andy Holloway]

Flacco turns and hands the ball off. And in the dream I think it's Alex Collins. And then they zoom up. Is Jason Moore. Oh, yes, and Jason Moore.

[Jason Moore]

Did I score?

[Andy Holloway]

Shimmies to the left and does this Madden style dive across the goal line for a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

Doing the golf.

[Andy Holloway]

And the jersey still says Collins on the back.

[Jason Moore]

That's fine.

[Andy Holloway]

But they've let Jason take over.

[Jason Moore]

Nice.

[Andy Holloway]

They've let him take over.

[Mike Wright]

What did you eat last night?

[Andy Holloway]

Look, I've been on a lot of medicine lately. I'm getting over a cold. It's really entertaining in my dreams. But Jason, good job.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you.

[Andy Holloway]

More athletic than people expect.

[Jason Moore]

Did you know last night Devonta Freeman had several opportunities. Cross goal line failed.

[Andy Holloway]

If you would have been in There, who knows?

[Jason Moore]

I got the job done.

[Andy Holloway]

You did and you did. The Redskins go to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. Cardinals are now one point favorites, 44 and a half point over under. Look, you have the debut of several players in this game. Alex Smith, Adrian Peterson, their Redskins debuts, Paul Richardson as well. Jordan Reed is back. Sam Bradford on the Cardinal side of the ball. Chad Williams gets the start. There is a lot of unknown in this game. So Mike, help illuminate for our listeners where they can count on fantasy production, because that's what it's all about.

[Mike Wright]

So count on fantasy production is David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald. That's where you can count. And then you're just starting to get into the world of probability where I think Sam Bradford is a pretty decent play this week against Washington at home. Sam Bradford is just, he's, He's a Week 1 star. He's a good quarterback when he's actually healthy and he's healthy right now. From the Cardinal side, we. Ricky Seals, Jones, I also like him a lot, which I've already talked about throughout this week. So that's, that's what I'm looking forward to on the Cardinals side of the ball. And, and then just seeing how Williams, Christian Kirk shakes out similar to Tyrell Williams, Mike Williams, I expect the. Whoever can emerge as the secondary option for Arizona will be a huge AD in on Tuesday.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Jason, you. I'm imbuing to you right now a massive love for Alex Smith. You love Alex Smith right this moment.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

And because of that, you are glutton for punishment. You want to pick a wide receiver from Washington to start this game.

[Jason Moore]

And I know exactly who I would pick. There's no question which wide receiver I would pick. Floppy toes. It would be floppy toes Jordan Reed, who is really a wide receiver, but at the tight end position, you know.

[Andy Holloway]

Your career is not on the right trajectory when you go from Rule 86 to floppy toes. Rule 86, that's when you need to look in the mirror.

[Jason Moore]

Rule 86 is in effect. Jordan Reed is healthy. You start him when he's in there. I have him plugged in. I was surprised. I did not think that he would be off the, the injury report and ready to go week one. But if he is, you play him. And I think that if you look at the defensive, you know, look, the Cardinals have been good against the tight end, but this is a new defense. They're shifting it around. They're. They've changed, you know, the scheme as Wilkes has come in as a head coach and You've got Patrick Peterson now looking forward and playing in the zone scheme. Yeah, exactly. And I think that that's where. That's where Jordan Reed and Alex Smith will have a good connection against that zone. The wide receivers, I'm not digging Dachshund or Richardson. I guess you can flex Crowder and hope, but I don't think this is a great matchup.

[Mike Wright]

Really.

[Jason Moore]

The only guy I like is Jordan Reed.

[Andy Holloway]

Last year, the Cardinals were very good against the rushing attack of opposing teams. Adrian Peterson. Mike, It's a volume play.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

If Chris Carson. Adrian Peterson.

[Mike Wright]

Wow. Chris Carson or Adrian Peterson.

[Andy Holloway]

You're not liking either matchup, but you don't take a shot. I probably go. I probably go. Adrian Peterson. If you think Rashad Penny's going to play and take snaps away from Carson, I think you go ap.

[Jason Moore]

I have him back to back in my rankings. I think that AP could have a very good game this week. I really do. I know it's a tough matchup, but he has fresh legs. Having the last two weeks off. He is still great when he's fresh and they're on the road, they want to slow the game down. I think he will have enough volume to where if he breaks something or if he gets a touchdown, he's a solid play.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Peterson is my choice of those two Cowboys.

[Andy Holloway]

Panthers in. Carolina Panthers, three point favorites. I would take the Panthers in this game myself.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

I like them at home. Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, Greg Olson. That's where my starts stop, so to speak. On the Carolina side of the ball. On the Dallas side. Jason, pick yourself a wide receiver. Mike, pick yourself a wide receiver. We're going to play roulette with the wide receiving core in Dallas right now.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I want to take Gallup.

[Mike Wright]

Really?

[Jason Moore]

I don't want to start any of them. I would not start a Dallas wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

If I have to start, I would take Williams. So that's the problem.

[Jason Moore]

Exactly. We just explained the problem with the Dallas wide receiver core perfectly. We picked three different guys to go with. It's a crapshoot. That's not how you want to start week one. Those are guys you want to leave on your bench and see how it develops. Find someone else to throw in there.

[Andy Holloway]

In the fantasy forecast, we want to help you make decisions on the players. You don't know if you're starting or not. To me, the only one that really leaps off the page is Dak Prescott. Because, look, if you drafted Cam, you're starting Cam. You're not questioning that But Dak is somebody that maybe you took very late. Maybe you have an option to start him or a Philip Rivers him or you know, Sam Bradford. What are you, what's your confidence level with Dak? This new wide receiver core? No more Jason Witten, no more Des Bryant. You're on the road. Yeah, but you have the rushing floor. He's going to move, you know, he's, he's been able to get in the end zone with his legs. Five touchdowns the past two years. Is Dak somebody that you're just kind of hands off this week?

[Jason Moore]

You're okay with that? But yeah, I mean, you don't need to start him because there are other better options. I mean, we've talked about it. Tyrod Taylor, I think is going to be a top 12 quarterback this week. I would rather start Sam Bradford even than Dak. Now could Dak get that rushing touchdown and finish the week fine?

[Mike Wright]

He's been historically great when he's playing.

[Jason Moore]

With Zeke, but I think you take a hands off approach right now. On deck.

[Andy Holloway]

Bradford or Prescott, Mike Bradford. Dalton or Prescott?

[Mike Wright]

Dalton. Okay, that one's in the. What I'm watching for for the Cowboys on top of the wide receivers, the tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

What happens.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, Dak Prescott went short very frequently to Jason Whitten. So which one of these Cowboys tight ends will actually emerge as the go to for deck? Because I firmly believe that somebody will. And then they'll come a go to. Yeah, someone will become a go to and they're going to get 80 targets.

[Jason Moore]

And we still don't know what's going to happen with Keelan Cole and Tavon Austin. There's so many. There are many mediocre options for Dallas.

[Andy Holloway]

Can't say Keelan Cole. You did.

[Jason Moore]

I did not mean to say Keelan Cole, obviously I meant to say Cole Beasley. Cole Beasley.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. Keelan, Cole Beasley. You went Wheel of Fortune there.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Yeah, I got the, I got the half the name right, so I stand by it. Thank you, Brooks.

[Andy Holloway]

The Seahawks take on the Broncos in Denver. Broncos are three point favorites, 42 and a half point over under we just talked about Chris Carson, Rashad Penny. The Batfield in Seattle has their work cut out for them now. People, they want to come out and they say, look, the Broncos, if you're going to beat them, are you going to beat them on the ground?

[Mike Wright]

Nope.

[Andy Holloway]

You're going to beat him in the air?

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

How are you going to beat him?

[Mike Wright]

The way that to beat Denver last year was simply outlasting their completely Inept offense. That's how you beat the Broncos last year.

[Andy Holloway]

It's true.

[Mike Wright]

That's not going to happen this year. The Broncos are going to be an extremely good team. Case Keenum is a more than capable quarterback. He's at home. He's favored against a team that they are not defensively what they were last year. Case Keenum is interesting to me, as if you are scraping the bottom of the barrel for looking for a start. Maybe you're looking for a more like a DFS start, but Case Keenum with Demarius Thomas, with Emmanuel Sanders, it's very intriguing to me. If he ends up in the top 15, I will not be surprised at all.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't want to underestimate Seattle's defense.

[Jason Moore]

Especially now that Earl Thomas I would take ported.

[Andy Holloway]

I would take the under in this game. I think it's still going to be a learning process for Case Keenum. You got your first live snaps in a game that matters. With Thomas and Sanders and Sutton, the weapons are there, but this is game one. So I wouldn't touch a new quarterback like Keenum in this situation. Just like I don't want to touch Alex Smith this week. That's my personal take. I'm looking at Jake Butt, and I cannot lie. I want to see what he does. I want to see what Case Keenum.

[Jason Moore]

But you're not starting.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, no. I'm looking at him. I'm just. I'm just checking it.

[Jason Moore]

Just walking by, just admiring him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Samsonite. Let's go to the.

[Jason Moore]

Wow.

[Mike Wright]

You can't.

[Jason Moore]

Come on.

[Andy Holloway]

You can't skip over Royce Flamen. Okay. All right. Let's stay there.

[Mike Wright]

Start him.

[Jason Moore]

I agree.

[Andy Holloway]

Thanks, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

Start him.

[Jason Moore]

No, I agree. And the thing is, is we've. We've got a new start. Sit Tool. And we could see who people are having their decisions over, and Royce Freeman is one of the most common guys. Search. Should I play Royce Freeman or this guy? Royce Freeman or this guy. And Royce Freeman is, I think, a good option this week. I agree with Andy. I don't want. I've kind of been writing off the Seahawks defense to a. I think to an egregious level because they have lost so many pieces, but with Earl Thomas coming back, they're going to be able to scheme things up a little bit more. And, you know, that being said, Royce Freeman's a good player and he's now the starter, and I would be 100% fine playing him.

[Mike Wright]

Royce Freeman or Derek Henry?

[Jason Moore]

Derek Henry.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll go. Royce Freeman.

[Mike Wright]

Royce Freeman or Marshawn Lynch?

[Jason Moore]

That one's super close.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll take Marshawn.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to go Freeman there.

[Mike Wright]

All right, last one, Marshawn or. I apologize, Royce Freeman or Carlos Hyde?

[Andy Holloway]

I'll take Hyde. Look, this is the fun of. You can go use the start sit tool.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

You can ask any question you want for as long as you want. Demarys Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders. People want to know your confidence level on starting them in this game.

[Mike Wright]

It's pretty strong.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

For both. Both guys are what, wide receiver Twos?

[Mike Wright]

Yes, two with one upside.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, the Bears take on the packers in Green Bay Sunday Night Football. Mitch Trubisky. Nobody beats him.

[Mike Wright]

Nobody beats Mitch.

[Andy Holloway]

Jordan Howard, Mike, he's the pump the brakes this week.

[Mike Wright]

If you look back last year, Jordan Howard averaged about 52 yards on the ground, I believe against the Green Bay Packers. He did score in one of those games. And a rushing touchdown solves all things. Just ask Jay Ajayi. But that's. That's my concern with Jordan Howard is that the packers can. They can stop the run. Their secondary is much better. And then game script might not. Might. Game script is going to be against Jordan Howard.

[Jason Moore]

The only counterpoint I would say to that is that Jordan Howard is a must start. I mean, I sure, I agree that you temper expectations, but I don't want people to hear what you're not saying. Jordan Howard is a guy that. Look, this is a new revamped Chicago Bears offense. And yes, Green Bay looked better in preseason with their defense, but they're not some defense that you should be scared of. The game script maybe, you know, if.

[Andy Holloway]

Brought up Jordan Howard, his pump the brakes on Howard translates to a trade target in week two. That's what it translates to.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think anybody can sit him. I wouldn't sit him. I've got a. I don't even agree with him. I think he's going to be great.

[Jason Moore]

I've got him as my number 13 running back this week, so I'm pretty confident. I mean, he's one of my guys.

[Andy Holloway]

One of the players we haven't talked about is Allen Robinson. We haven't got to see a lot of him.

[Mike Wright]

It's because it's impossible to talk about him.

[Andy Holloway]

He just seems like he's been drafted. He's just drafted in a certain place.

[Mike Wright]

He's the shadow.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I don't.

[Mike Wright]

What are you doing, Alan Robinson? Are you good? Are you bad?

[Andy Holloway]

Guess.

[Mike Wright]

Are you going to be involved? Not are you, but how involved Are you going to dominate? Are you going to get a 25% target share from Trubisky? There are so many questions about Alan Robinson. That's why his draft price has been so ambiguous.

[Jason Moore]

But he's a guy this year. He's a guy that you're going to start in week one. This is not a, this is not a very bad matchup for him. And if you believe what you believe with the game script, where you know the points are going to be coming for Green Bay, they're going to need to throw the ball. I think Allen Robinson, I see him as a wide receiver too, right. I see him right where his draft stock was coming into this week. So I'm fine there and I'm really excited. The player I'm most excited for in this entire matchup is certainly Trey Burton. This is where we get to see all the projections of he's going to be the pass catching tight end. Maybe Allen Robinson isn't as great as he was several years ago. And I think Trey Burton is very involved and has a great week.

[Andy Holloway]

It will be very interesting to see Khalil Mack's impact on the rushing defense.

[Mike Wright]

For the defense as a whole.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, the defense as a whole, but specifically the Bears struggled in the places that the packers were great last year. The packers could run the ball up the middle last year. Didn't matter what running back was there and the Bears gave it up in the middle of the defensive front. And that'll be the test this week because Jamal Williams, he's primed to have a good game. Aaron Jones is out. He's a strong start. I agree with you on that. I don't think people know what to do with Ty Montgomery or Randall Cobb, do you? Are they stash or trash to you?

[Jason Moore]

They're stash.

[Andy Holloway]

Both of them.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Randall Cobb can be a flex.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, both of them are. And the last thing I want to say on Alan Robinson is get ready. I don't think any other player in the NFL will have the biggest swing of opinion. This is where we're going to set the baseline for Alan Robinson. If he has a bad game, he's off. People are going to write him off for at least half of the fantasy season. If he has a great game. He's going to be the new hotness. He's going to be the new hotness and everyone's going to want him. He's going to be completely overvalued. So make sure you stay temperate no matter what. Alan Robinson, keep your head.

[Andy Holloway]

Keep your head. When the shadow emerges, just be ready.

[Mike Wright]

The shadow knows.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, guys, how about two games on Monday night this week? Why don't you double up? You want to double up?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, double up. No one gave it to me.

[Andy Holloway]

I was waiting.

[Jason Moore]

I did it physically.

[Andy Holloway]

I was waiting for Jason.

[Mike Wright]

Jason gave me a silent double head nod.

[Jason Moore]

You're welcome. And you got to go to the YouTube to check that one out.

[Andy Holloway]

The jets and Lions, the Rams and Raiders on Monday Night Football will start with the jets and Lions. Sam Darnold gets to make his debut on Monday Night Football. I'm excited for this game. I think that the jets are the second best team in that division, which is saying almost nothing. However, Darnold, Crowell, Pryor, all new faces to this jets offense. Going against a Detroit team that I think we're expecting big things from Matthew Stafford, we expect consistency from Golden Tate and Marvin Jones, but there are question marks on both of these rosters. Who do you feel most confident and who are you watching for?

[Jason Moore]

I'm. I feel very confident in all of the pass catching options for Detroit. I love Matthew Stafford, Golden Tate, Marvin Jones. I think that they're going to have a good game. You know. You know, I see Detroit winning this game easily and a lot of times you go, well, then that's, that's more of the running game. But you get there in the first half having beat them through the air. The, on the, on the jets side, the guy that I'm actually most confident in, and it might surprise you, but I'm most confident in Belle Powell. I think that if, if I don't hate it if the Detroit Lions are out.

[Andy Holloway]

Who's that again?

[Jason Moore]

Blau?

[Mike Wright]

Blow brow.

[Jason Moore]

If, if the Detroit Lions do get out to a lead and they try to Garrett blunt their way in the second half, you're going to need a dink and dunk with, you know, Sam Darnold and that probably will be below Powell on the field, not Isaiah Crowell. So I'm, I'm curious about Crowell, but I would start blow Powell over Crowell. That's not to say I think he will definitely finish higher, but I worry about the floor of Crowell.

[Andy Holloway]

It's going to be interesting. Bilal Powell certainly been one of the more trending names. Trending ads.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

The vibes around Blah Pal are all positive right now. I'm curious to see how much the jets commit to Crowell in game one. I think that's going to be. Look, it's a kind of an Ajay Clement situation here where you know or sprawls where. What's Powell's role going to be? Yeah, you know Elijah McGuire was supposed to have a big role in this backfield. He's gone. He's on the IR and Powell is reliable but not often flashy. So it will be interesting to see. I'm with you. Heat check on Robbie Anderson. You starting him in this game.

[Jason Moore]

I'm hoping to not.

[Mike Wright]

I want to see I lean that way.

[Andy Holloway]

You're doing what you can not to.

[Jason Moore]

I want to see what Sam Darnold's tendencies are and who his go to guy is. You just don't know yet. You've never seen an NFL game with him. So if you can sit Robbie Anderson if you drafted Terrell Pryor or Quincy and unwell. I do not want to start any of the pass catching options from the Jets.

[Mike Wright]

I'm with Jason. The only. I mean I guess maybe you'll start Crowell, but I'm with Jason. My confidence in the jets for fantasy is blah Powell this week.

[Jason Moore]

Can you play Legarre Blunt?

[Andy Holloway]

No. No. I mean you can physically, you can click that button. But. But I've set up some scripts on my computer that make it very hard. You have to like hold three keys down and push the button to get him in the lineup. I'm not doing it.

[Jason Moore]

And we haven't even mentioned one of my my guys. Carry On Johnson. Who Look, I think he's a great player. I think he will win out. If he ends up having a good game, I won't be surprised. But he's on all of my benches this week. I believe it will take several weeks before he takes over in the touches category.

[Andy Holloway]

So many benches. So many.

[Mike Wright]

The thing about Carry on is I was getting a lot of reports from people on Twitter getting jumping in the timeline saying Carry on is getting dropped. So I know that sounds egregious to the majority of people, but if you're listening to this podcast, just give your wave wire a little peek and see if Carry on happens to be there.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, no, that's a fair point. Rams, Raiders. Last year the Rams set the world on fire. 122 rushing yards a game, 239 passing yards a game. Jared Goff was 10th among quarterbacks in fantasy points per game and the Raiders gave him up. The Raiders no longer have Khalil Mack, but it is the debut of their new head coach.

[Mike Wright]

But they got a lot of old guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, look again. The Raiders are very similar, I feel like to the Seahawks in as much as there's a mood. At least in this studio there seems to be a Gruden mood at least emanating from mostly Mike and Jason puts off a lot of heat. So I feel some Gruden mood over there.

[Mike Wright]

It's my Gruden mood and I am not.

[Andy Holloway]

I am not on board with you guys on that of our anti I'm not anti Gruden.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not anti Gruden. I'm anti Olson foil.

[Andy Holloway]

And he's fun to talk about and he's fun to make fun of but I'm not certain that I think he may make a big impact on this team and I think that they might be a lot better. Look, I have Derek Carr as one of the guys that I brought up in my bold predictions. As a QB one this year. I'm not as excited about this week. No, no I'm not. Look, the Rams, they are remade secondary. They have an amazing defensive front. It's going to be tough sledding for their entire offense.

[Mike Wright]

They have unlimited cap money.

[Andy Holloway]

Unlimited. I don't know how they unlock that. That's like a cheat code. An achievement.

[Jason Moore]

They tried to get Khalil Mack to add to Aaron Donald and in Dominican sue, let's get the three best pass rush.

[Mike Wright]

It's ridiculous, man.

[Andy Holloway]

So expectations are tempered for Oakland. No doubt about it. Yeah, especially look. Look at what happened last night. It's week one. There's going to be some ugly football. This is a game that could be kind of ugly. I think I would take the under on the 49 and a half. I really would. I think that it might take Brandon Cooks new face, new rapport with Jared Goff. I would take the Rams to win this game and I would take the under and I think that it's going to be tough sledding for all the I think you have to pull the points back basically for every Raider including Amari Cooper. Another player that fits in that Allen Robinson category. Mike yeah, where the reaction from week one Amari Cooper is going to be through the roof. You are correct and you could probably take advantage of it in the trademark.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. If Amari Cooper has a bad week, I will be trading for Cooper.

[Mike Wright]

Now another just another statement in the Gruden list of it seems like they are now committing to Seth Roberts as the slot wide receiver. I mean that's unfortunate news for Amari Cooper that when he thrived Cooper it's because you were moving him around and you let him do some work from the slot as well. So if they're going when they're going three wide in the. If they do lock Roberts in and they keep Cooper on the outside, that's very disappointing.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Hey, I want to announce something. Got a little bit of a surprise announcement. We've got the giveaway winners for the DeAndre Hopkins signed jersey, couple copies of Madden and the Ultimate Draft Kit for Life. Mercy Dustin won the Hopkins jersey.

[Mike Wright]

Dustin.

[Andy Holloway]

Dustin. I don't. Don't have the last name.

[Mike Wright]

Well, we don't want to give them out.

[Andy Holloway]

TJ Won a copy of Madden. Mark H Won a copy of Madden.

[Jason Moore]

And who got the UDK for Life?

[Andy Holloway]

The winner of the Ultimate Draft Kit for Life is. Cole. Six berry.

[Mike Wright]

Cool. Good old Cole Six.

[Andy Holloway]

So there will be a lineage of six berries throughout the generation.

[Jason Moore]

Seven berries, eight berries.

[Andy Holloway]

Doesn't even matter how.

[Mike Wright]

Strawberries.

[Andy Holloway]

They'll all have the udk. So congratulations to everybody who entered. We'll put some new giveaways up. We'll give away some new autograph merch. It'll be fun. We do that all the time. I love giving stuff away.

[Mike Wright]

It's fun.

[Andy Holloway]

If I could give fantasy points away, I would. We try on this show. Essentially, that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to give you fantasy points. So without further ado, it is Friday. Let's get into the Daily Dose.

[Jason Moore]

The Daily Dose, brought to you by draft.

[Mike Wright]

So speaking of giving away, I. We every Friday, the three of us jump in a triangle match of death where we are going head to head to head on using the Draft app. And I would love to give a cup of water to each of your faces.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, well, you have to win, Mike. That's the part. You never remember that part.

[Jason Moore]

Did you forget who you're playing against?

[Mike Wright]

No, I did not.

[Andy Holloway]

The humblest of winners over here, myself and Jason.

[Mike Wright]

So we're firing up this draft. We are rolling with the expert settings because there's only three of us. And what that does is it takes, you know, the top 10 quarterbacks out, top 20 running.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, there's no tie rod in there.

[Jason Moore]

No. I'll bet he is.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm just playing.

[Mike Wright]

Pretty sure he's available. It looks like I have the first pick, but the expert settings is. It's certainly throwing a monkey wrench in my plans.

[Andy Holloway]

So we'll blitz through this certainly.

[Jason Moore]

But.

[Mike Wright]

So with the number one pick, I don't know how he's still there, but Joseph Nixon, expert, I love it.

[Jason Moore]

He is clearly a great pick. I mean, he's the guy that I Was hoping would get to me, obviously, unfortunately, he did not. I am going to go wide receiver at the number two spot. Don't take my guy feeling.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's a good pick.

[Andy Holloway]

No, that's all right. That's all right. I'm, I'm, I'm excited.

[Jason Moore]

So there's two running backs, two wide receivers.

[Mike Wright]

There's still plenty of Browns available, Andy.

[Jason Moore]

That is true.

[Mike Wright]

Duke's there.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, I, I'm trying.

[Mike Wright]

You're trying. You're stumbling and bumbling.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, here we go. I've got.

[Mike Wright]

You had two picks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. My app hadn't updated for a split second there.

[Jason Moore]

I'm taking good one.

[Andy Holloway]

Ty Hilton. Oh, I like, I like that matchup. And then I'm going to slip over to the running back side. I'm going to take Lamar Miller. I'm going to go volume play.

[Mike Wright]

I like that. I was, I was hoping he would come back to me.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I definitely don't mind that. I almost went with Dion Lewis last time I was around here. I like the matchup in Miami. I like that he's a pass catcher going to score. So he is now on my roster.

[Andy Holloway]

Nice.

[Mike Wright]

Oof. All right. The news flip flopped yet again on this. On this particular player, running back for the New England Patriots. There was a beat reporter that, that was talking of Rex Burkhead says the team feels like he is going to be a star this year and that he could have played. If it wasn't the preseason, then he absolutely could have played. So now my running backs are full. I'm flipping it over to the wide receiver position and he's my start of the week.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I knew you were.

[Mike Wright]

I'm grabbing Golden Tate.

[Jason Moore]

That makes a lot of sense because he was your start of the week. I'm going to take his counterpoint and I'm going to take Marvin Jones and one of us will be very happy and one of us will be disappointed when that touchdown goes.

[Mike Wright]

I'm sorry, Jason.

[Jason Moore]

Maybe it'll go to Kenny Golladay.

[Mike Wright]

Then we'll both be sad.

[Andy Holloway]

I took Kirk Cousins with my next pick.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, come on.

[Andy Holloway]

Wanted to grab the best quarterback on the board right now. I needed the stack.

[Jason Moore]

I needed the Thielen.

[Mike Wright]

Well, then you should have taken it, Jason.

[Jason Moore]

I didn't think anyone's going quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

You know what? I'm gonna give Alan Robinson a shot in this game.

[Mike Wright]

I think you should.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm taking a shot with Alan Robinson to round out my roster while you guys make a pick. Oh, I still got one more don't mind it.

[Jason Moore]

I am Cousins Miller now. I can get a quarterback or a running back is what I need. And Mercy, there are not a lot of guys that I love on the list here. So since I'm running out of time, I'm going to take a quarterback and I'm going to take Russell Wilson. He is still available. I realize the matchup's not great, but when you're Russell Wilson, when you're Russell Wilson, you've got the chance at that. All the scramble yardage and, you know.

[Mike Wright]

All the scrambles I'm looking. So I got to get a wide receiver or tight end and a quarterback. I'm just. I'm going to go for it. I'm going to go for the huge upside of Amari Cooper and just try and if he can score, I just need one play from you. Amari Cooper. That means I got.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason's team is Russell Wilson, Dion Lewis, Adam Thielen, Marvin Jones. Right now, Mike. Mike is making his last pick very slowly. Joe Mixon, Rex Burkhead, Golden Tate and Amari Cooper. Mike, you're going to make the wrong pick. Just pick somebody.

[Mike Wright]

The fact that he took Russell Wilson right there is upsetting to me. I'm going Homer.

[Andy Holloway]

Sam Bradford.

[Mike Wright]

Sam Bradford.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Jason, you got your final pick.

[Jason Moore]

I do. I'm going to take below Powell, the guy that I said I was confident in.

[Andy Holloway]

Good. It's a half point format and I'm taking James White. I think I'm going to lean into my Burkhead, pump the brakes. In week one, James White will be on the field a ton. My team is cousins Miller, White, Hilton and Robinson.

[Jason Moore]

There you go. I've got Russell Wilson, Dion Lewis, Bilal Powell, Adam Thielen and Marvin Jones.

[Mike Wright]

And ifc Sam Bradford, Mixon Burkhead. I'm loving that. And then Tate, Amari Cooper.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, that is it for today's episode. Tune in on Sunday morning to the live stream. Go to YouTube, follow us on YouTube, subscribe and basically click the bell and you'll know when Mike is live on Sunday morning. Have an absolutely wonderful weekend. I can't wait to recap the games with you on Monday. Goodbye, everybody.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, good luck.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter @the ffballers.